Personalities
by Sora Saotome
Summary: Everything you wanted to know about the main characters, and maybe a little more!(kinda depressing and this is a YST fic, not RW, beware!)
1. Mouri

PERSONALITIES  
  
By Sora Saotome  
  
A/N:First, I just want to say, I'm not a professional writer, so I tend to like constructive comments over flames. Second, this isn't "Ronin Warriors", it's "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers"but most things are about the same. For the purposes of this fic, Shin=Cye, Seiji=Sage,Ryo=Ryo, Shuu=Kento, and Touma=Rowen. Third, I do SI, so if you don't like that, then don't read my fic. I don't really insert myself though, my character(who pretty much just has my name and *part* of my personality) has a completely different look, past, and everything else. I therefore add that all new charcters belong to me, and if used without my permission, I will be unhappy. Fourth, I don't own YST or RW or Ranma 1/2. I wish I did, but I don't, so please don't sue me. I "borrow" them, just like in "Huck Finn". If you STILL want to read my fic(wow you're determined), here it is; you will find some Nihongo impaired translations at the end of the chapter:  
  
Chapter 1:Mouri  
  
  
  
Seiji pulled his cap over his eyes as he walked through the market with Shin. Seiji and Shin had known each other for more than four years before they met the other Troopers, but never really talked about it. Especially since they had been best friends and Shuu (being "secretly" very insecure) considered Shin his best friend and he Shin's. But, every once in a while they still hung out, not with the other Troopers, but just them two.  
  
"Shin, how long are we going to be in here?" Seiji whispered beneath the green baseball cap. He was having trouble following Shin with all the people and the baseball cap obstructing his view. He ran into a large pot as a even larger woman came rushing around the corner with her basket. His hat went flying into a large rice cooker that was out for show, and he fell into the pot, butt first. As if by magic, all the teenage girls in the store rushed over and started giggling and flirting with him. He tried to duck into the pot when two strong arms pulled him out by the shoulders and down the seasoning aisle quickly. Shin threw his jacket over Seiji's head and grabbed a container of cilantro off the shelf.  
  
"Let's go," Shin whispered and smiled at the blond. They proceeded to the cashier, and then out of the store. They snuck into an alley, and Shin took back his jacket and placed Seiji's green hat back on his head.  
  
"How did you-"Seiji began but Shin cut him off by putting up a finger and winking. Seiji sort of smiled, and the duo was off to the train station. Seiji looked down at Shin's bag and noticed he had more than cilantro in there. But, being the quiet person he was, he just looked back in front of him. But the ever observant Shin caught him.  
  
"I promised your Okaa I'd feed you good and healthy meals and I'm living up to the 'good' part," Shin smiled his happy grin,( you know, the one where he doesn't show his teeth)And Seiji looked at him. In the six or so years he'd known Shin, he didn't know if he had ever seen Shin truly frown. He had seen him angry on several occasions, but never sad, or really even in the middle, like Seiji was all the time. He decided to talk to him about it later.  
  
***  
  
"That was excellent Shin!" Seiji told Shin after dinner. Shin smiled the same grin and looked at his half eaten plate. As usual, Seiji had taken a fair portion, and eaten all of it; Shin had taken a very small portion, and eaten half of it. Seiji looked at the table and saw that by the looks of the huge amount of food still on the table, Shin was still used to cooking for all the Troopers, which meant cooking for about 20 people with Shuu and Touma around. Then Seiji looked at Shin( for the second time that day) in a different light. Shin never ate very much, but always wore clothes 2-3 sizes larger so that he looked the normal weight. Seiji guessed that if Shin wore different clothes he'd be skinner that Touma, and everyone would know.  
  
For a second Seiji also thought about why he was the only person who had noticed. But then it came to him in a "duh!" sort of way. Seiji was the only one of them who really contemplated and analyzed everything around him, except for maybe Sora, which he was sure knew about Shin's weight, just never said anything in case she embarrassed him. But then again, was that it? Had everyone but him noticed and just not wanted to embarrass Shin? Shin was the most sensitive boy in the group, and that much was obvious, but he was strong, and although Seiji had seen like Ryo cry, he had never Shin cry. But then again that just added to the list of things he was going to ask Shin about later that night. It was obvious this was one "sleep over" where not much sleep would occur.  
  
***  
  
Shin's mother was on a business trip, but his sister had been staying nearby whilst the final preparations for her wedding went through, so Seiji's mother had decided that that plus the responsibilities of one- year- older Shin had was safe enough to leave her son with for a few days (she still thought Seiji was 13 years old). Seiji's whole family had gone on a retreat for the weekend, and although Seiji had wanted to go, the opportunity to spend time with his best friend and away from his sister encouraged him enough to stay behind.  
  
After watching a hour or so of TV, (for there was no TV at Seiji's place) the two headed up to Shin's room. Shin grabbed the smaller of Seiji's bags and slung it over his shoulder, and as he reached for the second one, he nearly fell to the floor at the weight.  
  
"Seiji! This thing is heavy!"Shin gasped as he picked himself and the bag up, and began climbing the stairs. Seiji smirked *he's always so light hearted about everything! Maybe *his* sister actually *helped* him grow up. Either that or his mom or his dad-* Seiji stopped in his tracks, standing on the light aquamarine carpeted stairs behind Shin. Shin looked back at his friend with worried eyes. Not sad, but worried.  
  
"Seiji-kun, you okay? What's wrong?" Seiji shook his head and looked at Shin with his one visible eye.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, and began walking again. Shin looked at him with the same worried eyes for a second before he started walking again. *Of course! How could I not realize this before?! It all must have to do with his dad! He never talks about him, so something important must have spawned from his father not living with him! Hopefully he considers me a good enough friend that he'll be willing to talk about it tonight...*  
  
Shin laid the two bags on the floor of his room, and proceeded to his closet to get out two mats, one for him, one for Seiji. Seiji took out his toothbrush and toothpaste out of his bag, and hurried to Shin's bathroom to make use of them. When he returned, Shin had made the two mats and had emptied two of his drawers, putting the clothes in a neat pile next to it. Seiji looked a little confused at Shin, who just smiled.  
  
"Since you're going to be here for five days, I figured you might want a place to put your clothes." Shin stood up and headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Seiji just grabbed his smaller bag, and carefully took out, refolded, and laid all of his clothes in one drawer. Then he grabbed the other bag, and just tucked it into the drawer. Then he took off his shirt and pants, folded them, and put them in the first drawer. He went over to the mats to choose which one he would sleep on (he knew Shin would give him a choice once he came out of the bathroom) and almost giggled. One was made with pastel green sheets, and a forest green blanket and pillowcase, while the other had sky blue sheets and a dark blue blanket with grey dolphins on it. It was as if Shin had chosen for him. When Shin came out, he had a huge t-shirt on, that said "Save the Alaskan Trout" on the front, with his boxers just visible at the bottom of the shirt.  
  
"Which one do you want?"Shin asked Seiji. Seiji pointed to the green one. "Good choice," Shin replied, and took the small plastic comb off his dresser, and ran it through his auburn hair once, before replacing it. Then he looked Seiji's way, to make sure he was ready to have the lights turned off, and did so. Seiji listened carefully to the sound on Shin taking off his giant T-shirt and folding it up. Once he was sure Shin had sat down on his mat, Seiji quickly grabbed the flashlight he had hid under his pillow while Shin was in the bathroom, and shined it on him. From the one party Seiji *had* been invited too as a kid, he had remembered one thing. The more popular boys had turned out the lights, and then shined flashlights, to talk to each other. It was a moment before Seiji realized there were no adults in the house to worry about "checking on them" to make sure they were asleep. In fact, thinking back, it all seemed very foolish. But at the time, what went on went on. Shin quickly put his arms around his stomach and yelled at his best friend.  
  
"Seiji!" but it was too late. Seiji had seen how incredibly skinny Shin was, so Shin let his arms drop to the floor, and stared at his feet. Seiji just stared for a moment and put down his flashlight, so it dimly lit the whole room, not just Shin. Seiji ran his fingers through his blond hair, and spoke.  
  
"Shin, you are *way* too thin-"  
  
"Don't you think I know!" Shin cut him off, and for the first time in his life, Seiji heard defiant sorrow in his friend's voice. Seiji just stared at him, not sure exactly what todo. Luckily for him, Shin spoke first,  
  
"My family has always been really thin. Tall and thin," he ran his fingers through his hair, and started again, "I'd probably be bigger, but my Okaa almost didn't live through my birth 'cause of her heart. She's a lot older than she looks, but she's never really been healthy anyway," Seiji just continued to watch his friend, who was still staring at the floor, careful not to make eye contact with him.  
  
"My Otou was thin too. He was always the tallest in his class, and the thinest. He used to sneak into movies, because he could sneak through the back door even with the lock and chain on it. All he ever wanted, though, was to have a son who would carry on the Mouri name. He almost had it too. My older sister was one of triplets, a boy and another girl. We were told never to talk about the other girl though, because she ran off with some American when she was 13. My older brother..." Shin paused for a moment and Seiji watched a single tear fall into Shin's lap. "We don't talk about him either, because it's too depressing. It happened about 4 months before I met you, which was a direct result of it... my brother jumped off Shinjuku bridge. He had been really close to Otou, and had written in the suicide note, that he wanted to live forever in Otou's favorite place. It wouldn't have been so bad, except me and Oni-chan watched him do it." Seiji's eyes opened widely, and he wanted to comfort his friend, but Shin was the only real friend he had ever had, so he didn't really know how to. He just continued to stare.  
  
"Okaa had to go on a last minute business trip, and my brother had told us he had a date or something, so only Oni-chan took me out to dinner that birthday..."Seiji gasped and Shin could hear him say "iie..." quietly.  
  
"On the way back, we had to cross Shinjuku bridge, right about dusk, and as we crossed we noticed someone was walking on the side, and right when we got close enough to offer him a ride, I recognized the shirt... and he jumped," Seiji watched as Shin's lap quickly became soaked with tears, and a strange force made him stand up, move over to his best friend, sit down on his knees, and hug him tightly. As Seiji's shoulder quickly became soaked with Shin's tears, he felt him hug back, as he gasped for air threw the tears. But after a minute, Shin pulled away, and looked back as his feet, as he spoke again.  
  
"But it's not like it was the first 'male figure' in my house to die or anything," he began, regaining his composure, "when I was 7 Otou left us, but not on purpose. He was a Marine biologist, with a minor in Ichthyology. He and a bunch of other scientists would go out for a week once a year, to study wild marine animals. They would go scuba diving in all different directions and meet up every night to talk about what they saw. And one night, Otou just didn't come back. A few weeks later someone found him, but he hadn't drown or anything, something, probably someone, had killed him..." he paused briefly before continuing, "We had him cremated, but Okaa saw him before they burned him, and she refuses to talk about it. We had him in an urn in his lab, which we have always kept exactly as he left it, but a week after my brother died, we threw the ashes in Shinjuku bay, so Oni wouldn't be alone." Shin paused, and although the light was dimming, Seiji watched tears silently cover Shin's sharply curved face. Seiji arm moved to Shin, and instead of embracing him tightly, rubbed Shin's back softly, comforting him. Shin lunged and embraced him once again soaking Seiji's partially dry shoulder. Shin spoke again, but this time, did not pull away from the hug. "Before Otou died, Okaa tried to have other boys, but all but me and Oni were stillborns."  
  
Shin pulled away and looked Seiji straight in the eye. "Poor Okaa had 6 stillborn boys before me!" Shin immediately hugged Seiji, and began sobbing this time. Seiji had to smile at his friend's courage. Seiji was his closest friend, and yet this was the first moment of weakness he had ever really seen in him. Always being so pleasant and optimistic, when he was really covering up all this sorrow. He figured Shin had probably needed this time to "let it all out". Seiji pulled away a little, suddenly, and pulled Shin to his feet. He looked the tall, thin boy, standing only in his light blue boxers with little teal fish on it, up and down a few times, and spoke softly, with some humor in his voice.  
  
"Well, you aren't *that* skinny Shin. This isn't the reason why you didn't go for swim team, and bailed on us every time we went to the pool is it?" Shin had to laugh a little through his tears,  
  
"I didn't want anyone to make a big deal out of it," he said still crying a little. "I only wanted to go to the beach 'cause I could wear my wetsuit and no one would notice how thin I was,"  
  
"The green and black one?" Seiji asked,  
  
"It's the only one I have, but I do have a pair of swim trunks I wear in the pool in my backyard-"  
  
"You have a pool?!"Seiji asked surprisedly "you're the only one of us who has an actual *house*, not a *dojo* or a *apartment above a restaurant*, or a *cabin*, but a *house*, and you also have a *pool* you haven't shared with us?!" Seiji was careful not to sound like he was yelling. That was the last thing Shin needed right now. Shin started laughing more than crying, and hugged his best friend as they stood, in their boxers, on his light blue carpet.  
  
"It's under the trampoline. That's how we hide it so the neighbors don't try to use it," and after that, for the next few minutes, the two boys just stood there in their embrace, glad to be friends, listening to Shin's soft gasps. And for a brief moment, Seiji regretted everything he had ever complained about.  
  
A/N: I apologize for all the *'s, but I have to show emphasis some way, and I don't like caps, and fanfiction.net will not let me put it up with my italics. Again, I apologize. If you enjoyed it even a little bit, and have a few extra minutes, please review my story. I promise you would make my *year* if you did^_^. Umm...this is not a shonen ai fic, and do you know why? Becuase they aren't gay. Best friends get really close sometimes and guys will be really straight and look really gay. I ask you to look past that stereotype if only briefly to absorb what I was to show in this first chapter. Then next few will be less...like this one. They're just all different^_^. I encourage you to keep reading this fic, as it is practically the only one I'm even slightly proud of, so I put many sleepless nights into it(not to mention class time...). And now, Translations:  
  
Okaa: Mom  
  
Otou: Dad  
  
Oni-chan: Older sister or brother  
  
Iie: No  
  
Shinjuku: Not a word, but it is a large bay and bridge famous for salt pools...or whatever we see in episode 6?(it's 3 AM, do you know where your brain is Sora?)  
  
That's all for this chapter! 


	2. Date

A/N: Just for review, I do not own YST, RW, or Ranma 1/2, but Sora and Jess-chan are my characters for me to do with as I wish*maniac laughter*...so...keep that in mind. This Chapter is about Seiji (seeing the pattern with the chapter titles yet?), and this entire fic actually spawned when I was listening to Tenku den one day and started thing about this chapter a little. Anyway...more translations for new words(I think there's two) at the end. Thank you so much for reading this fic so far^_^  
  
Chapter 2:Date  
  
Suddenly, the phone rang. Shin released from the embrace, and headed over to his blue plastic phone. Shin loved that phone. It was a parrotfish, so called because it had a mouth shaped like a parrot's beak, and fins that go up and down instead of side-to-side. Shin picked it up and spoke,  
  
"Hello, Mouri residence-"  
  
"Shin! You gotta help! Ojii-sama was training Sora, and totally beat her up, 'cause he was mad at someone he was drinking with last night, and he threatened to beat her up again if she couldn't block all of his attacks so she ran off! An-and... I still don't have a car!" came the frantic voice of Sora's older brother. Be he needn't have said two words, because Shin could sense the worry in his voice and he was only ever worried about her.  
  
"I'm on my way," Shin said, and hung up the phone and grabbed his short off the dresser.  
  
"What is it?" Seiji asked as Shin threw his a water-proof windbreaker from the top drawer. Shin grabbed the other windbreaker and a blanket from the closet.  
  
"We have to go find Sora," Shin answered as he grabbed Seiji's flashlight off the floor, "let's go."  
  
Seiji looked at Shin. "Not wearing pants today?" he questioned. Shin sighed and pulled some cargo shorts out of a drawer and hastily put them on while Seiji did the same.  
  
They ran down the stairs and Shin's mind raced through all the possibilities of things that could happen to Sora in this weather, in the middle of the night, injured. He grabbed the first aid kit and keys to his car off a shelf in the kitchen and headed for the garage, Seiji close behind.  
  
"Nice car," Seiji said, looking at the small light blue Mazda convertible. Shin smiled and unlocked the doors, getting in the driver's side (right side). Seiji got in on the other side and marveled at the beautiful interior.  
  
"I know, Sora gave it to me last birthday. She knew I needed a new car, or I would have to drive *that* when I got my licence ," Shin pointed at the other car in the garage and Seiji raised an eyebrow. It was ugly, old and looked like it would fall apart if you opened the door.  
  
Shin pulled out of the garage and into the pouring rain. He thought about telling Seiji to "keep and eye out" for Sora, but saw that he was already scanning the side of the road for her.  
  
***  
  
Several hours of searching, later, they passed Seiji's dojo, and Shin noticed something on his porch, and pulled over his car, as Seiji jumped out and ran to the front door. There he found Sora, curled up in a ball, shivering and unconscious. He knelt down next to her, to make sure she was still alive; thankfully, she was. Shin ran over with the blanket, and, picking her up, wrapped it about her, and ran back to the car.  
  
Shin being the only one of the Troopers who could drive, Seiji had to hold Sora on the way back to Shin's house. Her wet hair dripped on to Seiji's already wet windbreaker, and he carefully looked her over a bit. *Good thing Hahaoya taught me a bunch of doctorly stuff over the years*. She had an interesting gash on her left leg, but other than that, all her injuries were bruises and scratches.  
  
"She'll be fine, Shin. She's just exhausted and cold," Shin smiled at Seiji, but he could see the worry in his eyes. Shin loved Sora, and constantly worried about her. This just made it worse. Seiji decided to get Shin's mind off his worries.  
  
"When I was little, Ojii-san dressed me up as a girl," Shin looked at his friend, slight confusion in his eyes, "I had some strange disease, so he figured the gods thought we had too plentiful good fortune. So he dressed me up as a girl to fool the gods." Shin continued to stare at the soaked road, but Seiji could tell he was listening.  
  
"Oni always made fun of me. Pulling my hair, and calling me "Seijiko- chan". Adding the "ko" to make it sound like a girls name. *She's* probably the reason why I fear girls. But my anti-social tendencies are not a result of her. I was a little boy, trapped in the costume of a little girl. I never wanted to play with girls, and boys didn't want to play with me. I would just play with my little ball with the bell in it, like some sort of cat, all day long."As he finished, he almost felt like laughing, it seemed so silly now.  
  
"Poor Seiji-kun," Sora whispered, half awake. Seiji looked down at her, her eyes half open, and she smiled at him, like a newborn child in his lap.  
  
"Sora!" Shin yelled happily pulling the car to the side of the road. He smiled at her, and reached for her, but she quickly corrected him.  
  
"Shin! Don't pull over on this busy street! Some drunk will hit you!" He smiled at her consideration, for he could see in her eyes, that all she wanted at that moment was to have Shin hold her in his arms and never, ever let her go. He pulled the car back out onto the street, and Seiji carefully pushed her head back to his chest. He still wasn't sure how much blood she lost, and sitting up like she had just done must have given her a nauseating head rush. Sora went along with it, laid her head on Seiji's chest, and softly exhaled as Seiji continued his story.  
  
"Ojii-san was practically the only friend I had, and all he really did was train me. Hahaoya was often at work, and Oni was into guys. She would sometimes bring them over so she could make fun of me, saying 'that *is* my brother' when her boyfriends would ask 'didn't you have a brother?'. There were times when I hated her so much, but I couldn't do anything, because I was so young, and as far as the gods were concerned, a girl," Seiji looked down at Sora, and noticed she had either fallen asleep of passed out, probably the latter. Shin's mind wandered as he drove through the rain, this little story explaining so much about his friend, and his personality. Explained why he was so quiet. Why he never liked girls in any part of the six years Shin had been his friend. Why Seiji had been so tentative to let Sora become his friend. Why he hated his sister so much. Shin figured Seiji was just trying to make Shin more comfortable about telling him so much about his life, but it definatly worked.  
  
"Seiji," Shin began, and Seiji looked over at him, "did you ever have any friends before me? I mean, real friends, not Ojii-san, but friends around your age?" Seiji thought this over for a second and quickly responded.  
  
"No, the first five years of school, I just sat in the back of the room, quietly, and non-chalantly doing my work. I always got A's... except on the assignments where we had to work in a group. I usually did horribly on those. Teachers in Japan have always taught children to assimilate well into groups, so that the combined group can do some thing great, where several individuals would have not done near as well. That's why I was always told I would succeed most in America, where individuality is supported."  
  
Shin thought this over in his head, and although it made sense, he would never be willing to give his friend to America. He was going to keep Seiji in Japan as long as possible.  
  
  
  
A/N: No, my grandfather does not beat me up. My grandfather (the one that's still alive by the way) lives several hundred miles away, does not train me in martial arts, or even drink! If you haven't noticed from some of my other works, my character's name is often Saotome Sora, as it is in this as well. Saotome aka Saotome Ranma being my brother aka Saotome Genma being my Ojii-sama. I will explain about him in a chapter to come. Please feel free to review me. I'll love you forever^_^ and now...for translations:  
  
Ojii-sama: Grandfather  
  
Ojii-san: less formal...like Grandpa  
  
Hahaoya: Mother  
  
That's all for chapter 2! 


	3. Saotome

Chapter 3: Saotome  
  
A/N: Yes, yes, I know it's a chapter about MY character, but I wasn't sure how to segue into another character without having Sora's first, it would just seem too crowded. I'm also planning on a later 2nd Saotome chapter, but this one would be Ranma, not Sora(I was inspired by my wonderful reviewers...ARIGATO!^_^) anyway, I had to do Sora first. If SI's make you angry, then just skip to the next one, you might miss a few events, but I'll try to limit it for those who don't like SI's. Now...Chapter 3:  
  
  
  
Shin quickly jumped out of the car to open the door for Seiji. Seiji picked unconscious Sora up with ease, but that just got him to thinking again. *Hnn, she's awfully light, but I suppose that's natural when you hang out with Shin a lot...*he carried her in and Shin made a spot on the floor, quickly covering it with a black blanket. Seiji set her down, and checked out her accessible wounds. They weren't too bad, (at least not as bad as they were sometimes...) but they would still need to watch her. The adrenaline gone, the boys both slouched and sighed. Seiji laid back on the hard wood floor and closed his eyes, but Shin calmly sat and waited.  
  
  
  
He wasn't sure what he was waiting for, but he waited none the less. Seiji looked up in a few minutes time, to see Shin staring into space, his eyes glazed, but not with sorrow. They seemed too enveloped in confusion to be sad. Seiji glanced at a digital clock in a table nearby, and almost smiled. 2 AM. He had been right about the non-sleeping thing. After about ten minutes, he decided to wake Shin from his unresponsive personality.  
  
  
  
"Shin-san," Shin shook his head and look at Seiji, still laying on the floor. "I could heal her... if you want me to," Shin's eyes opened wide and he looked at Seiji. After a little silence, he smiled and shook his head again.  
  
  
  
"No, it's alright. She's not that bad this time, I was just...thinking," Seiji gave Shin a questioning look, but Shin didn't see it. He had already looked back into space, but he kept talking. "I mean... why would someone do this? I couldn't ever think of Ojii-san laying a finger on me to harm me. Me or Oni-chan. I just... can't figure it out,"Shin became silent, as Seiji looked on, suddenly, another voice broke the silence, yet again surprising them with her voice.  
  
  
  
"Well, it might be Otou-chan, or possibly the whole marriage altogether. It could be having to raise a hyper youngster from age six to 15 with no experience. It could be a lot of things. Whatever it was though, I'm sure he wasn't *always* like this. I can sense it sometimes, when he throws us against a wall or something. He doesn't want to, but some anger lays within him, that will most likely never escape."The boys looked down at Sora as she continued to speak, her sparkling eyes justifying she wasn't talking in her sleep.  
  
  
  
"Oh well, I guess it's not my place to judge his tics. I guess it must be harder for you two than it is for me!"Shin looked down at her, eyes sparkling with the same window moonlight that had illuminated her's.  
  
  
  
"Sora-chan, trust me. It's much worse for you. We just have to worry about you; you have to live it," she smiled up at him and closed her eyes gently.  
  
  
  
"Really? I would have begged to differ, but I don't feel like it right now. Too tired," she paused, and then continued. "I supposed you'll be wanting *my* story now. My 'tragic' tale of two young children and their angst-ridden past, ne?" The boys look at each other, but she continued without persuasion. "It was a *long* time ago. To long ago to count if you ask me but you didn't. We were a perfect little family. Loving father, loving mother, two cute and well behaved children, only about a year apart. We went on family trips and our father often took as much time as possible out for us. He worked for the government, but he was good at 'service' bribing, as he called it. Making up for missing meetings by promising to do a long report or file for them. It usually worked. The end," silence met the house once again as Sora opened her eyes slightly. Shin noticed a small tear forming in the corner of her eye, but she quickly blinked it away. The silence rang through their ears, almost painfully, not knowing the full story. After a while, Seiji shifted slightly, and spoke,  
  
  
  
"Which, of course, explains next to nothing." It was a very unorthodox comment for Seiji, but he had to say something. Sora's subconscious was tugging at him from within. Her chest heaved a small sigh and she spoke, softer this time.  
  
  
  
"Well, I guess the only thing I *really* left out was the whole 'assassination' thing. I was four, Oni was five. We came home to a sobbing mother and a family friend pushed us gently into our rooms. We sat on the small mats for seven hours, not speaking or even moving much. We were listening to the talk outside. After that time, the friend came in and told us our father was dead. We were already aware, but neither of us really knew what it meant. That he would never be with us again, take us on trips, or bring us presents. We went to sleep listening to our Hahoya's painful sobs. The next morning, Ranma was gone. All that was left was the sign of a small struggle and a note from Ojii-sama saying he was going to train Ranma. Hahoya was heartbroken, and supposedly attempted suicide twenty some times within the next year. My other Ojii thought I was in a bad environment, and took me with him on his cruse liner for a year. Once Hahoya had calmed down I went back, but I probably didn't help her depression much. I tended to run away at least once a month, trying to find Oni...actually made it to China once too. Once we found out he was moving permanently to Nerima, Hohoya sent me to live with him. The end." Sora smiled gently as several tears ran down her cheeks, then closed her eyes and fell asleep. Relieved of her pain, if only briefly.  
  
A/N: Thank you for reading chapter 3. I have a feeling many people will "conveniently" not read it, so I really thank you for reading through it(am I redundant at 4 AM? I don't think so...). Anyway, if you have a chance and it's not too much trouble please review. Me and my friend have parties when we get reviews, but she gets 20 a day 'cause she writes originals*sigh* so let's show her how much Anime people review!!!^_^ Anyway, that's all for Chapter 3. Chapter 4 will be about the Hashiba one... Ja na!^_^ 


	4. Hashiba Part 1

A/N: This one might hit close to home...please don't hate me but I'm into the drama/ angst thing, so this was bound to happen. If you have trouble hearing about abused children in detail, maybe you should conviently skip the first section...I just don't want anyone getting mad at me. Once again, YST, RW, and Ranma ½ are not mine but Jess-chan and Sora are. And now...chapter 4:  
  
Chapter 4: Hashiba part 1  
  
A small blue-haired boy rocked back and forth in the corner of his apartment, his thin arms covering his blue head as he trembled. Several broken bottles lay within a foot of him, but only one of them had come very close. That one had only injured him in the shatter. He was lucky his father was really drunk tonight... when he was in one of his "bottle moods".  
  
Touma slowly raised his head, unsure of himself, but no more bottles flew at him. The old man had passed out on the floor. *Good for him*. Touma slowly stood, still trembling, wondering why it still affected him like this. None of this was new. He should get used to something that happens this constantly...right? Or was this just something one *didn't* get used to? Ever.  
  
He picked up a few large shards of green and brown glass carefully, not wanting them to go into his bare feet. He walked nonchalantly to the "kitchen" and put the large shards in a big black garbage bag hanging on the door handle. By the time he reached the bag, he was calm again. He could think clearly again. And the first thing he thought of was his sister. He was so glad she wasn't here, if only once out of the 30-day month.  
  
*Okaa, hasn't forgotten her completely yet...which is extremely lucky...I think...*he quickly lost himself in his own thought, being very bad about this when he had no one around to show him reality. It was said to be a problem with gifted children. They analyze things to the point of getting the entirely wrong answer...if they are allowed too much time to think about it. And when no one's around to tell them what the real answer is, they start basing on the incorrect one for conclusions and...it's a big mess. Touma cried futilely into his psych trying to find his lost sibling, even though his conscious knew her exact location.  
  
The train station down in Toyohashi. The one she always stays at, on these nights. Okaa never comes, but at least Jess-chan can say she waited...all night...after all, staying on a bench near the tracks is better than staying in the "warmth" of the Hashiba apartment, she often told him. And he understood. He had played the same game with his mother years ago. Now she didn't hardly know she had a son.  
  
A few tears ran down Touma's cheeks, as he came back to reality. He wiped some of them with his left hand, and then stared at the moistened palm. So many scars covered the pale flesh just around his hand. He carefully pulled a small piece of glass from the back of his hand and cringed, as a fresh stream of blood sent more stains onto the terrible carpet. It made him nauseous just to look at that carpet. But he looked down at his legs: paleness beneath the old boxers. Just pale...and even more pale where the scars had formed. His legs never saw sun; he couldn't ever show much skin more than his face, because they would see the scars. The deep scars. The kinds that *don't* heal. Seiji saw them. So did Sora. But not ones on his flesh, but the ones on his very soul.  
  
He closed his eyes and thought of his sister, and of his friends. They were the only things that kept him going each day.  
  
***  
  
Jess-chan sat in a bench, embracing her knees. Why wasn't she used to sleeping here? She slept here at least once a month: on this hard wooden bench with a smiling realtor behind her. Sometimes, when she was more comfortable, she would stare at him, and wonder how even a picture could smile so much. Then she'd remind herself that many people aren't as miserable as her and her brother. *Just lucky I guess*.  
  
She looked around at the prostitutes and hobos, most of which were drunk, and hoped to god that she would never turn out like them. Sure they "lived" but only in the most superficial sense of the word. As bad as life was now, to live like that would be even worse. Then again, she didn't have to worry about living like them when she was older if she didn't live through the night--no...she had to stop thinking like that. Nothing will attack her...probably. Things rarely do; plus, she can run pretty fast, kick pretty hard and punch if necessary. And there's always the Yoroi if worst comes to worst... she slowly fingered the glowing orb in her pocket, and it seemed to give her power.  
  
She let go of her knees (cold as she was in the rain) and walked slowly over to the payphone. She searched her pockets for change (it was an old one, luckily). She became more and more paranoid each moment she was away from the comfort of her bench. She felt so out in the open at the payphone, as if the grass had opened and the hunter was pointing the shotgun right down her nose. She quickly put the change in the phone, almost dropping some of it in her haste and fumbled with the buttons.  
  
She had promised never to do this, but something just wasn't right tonight. She had to, or she knew she would die. Somehow she knew.  
  
The phone rang.  
  
***  
  
Shin sat by Sora, still unconscious, in his room. He watched over her with worry and hope, jumbled in a mass of pained love. It always hurts when someone you love is in pain. It's a pain you feel deep in your chest, where we believe the heart resides. Right next to the soul. So close, that if it hurts too much, the soul will be burnt by it, and permanently damaged. Some people choose not to love. And, as impossible as it is, it might be a good idea...but most likely not.  
  
Sora's eyes opened slowly, the dim light of some large candles Seiji set up still too bright for her unadjusted eyes. She squinted and Shin put a hand over her eyes, blocking the light. He looked at her, deep concern in his eyes.  
  
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked softly. She smiled a little at the question. He always put it in future tense because present tense was never a certain thing for her.  
  
"Of course," she replied, siting up a little. She cringed subtly but Shin's eyes caught it, even in the melancholy light.  
  
"Lay down..." he commanded, pushing her shoulder down softly. She sighed, hating this helpless feeling. All of them hated it, because it was powerlessness; being exposed and inept. The Yorois were supposed to prevent that feeling, but it occurred anyway. Shin leaned over and gently kissed her as she lay there. She smiled, and looked around a bit.  
  
"I like what you've done with your room," she said in her normal cheerful voice. The blithe tone seemed to melt away the gash on her leg, or at least the knowledge of it, for a moment. Shin looked at the beautiful girl on his light blue floor and sighed, his love powerfully strong inside him. Then she cringed a little, and the thoughts all came rushing back. He was going to kill that bastard for hurting her. He couldn't stand to see her in pain so often, and the death of Genma would fix that...mostly. But then there were battles to think of, and spars and soon the thought of homicide was replaced with more concern for Sora. She might not know it, but if she kept on living like this, she wouldn't last long. The thought of that nearly scrambled Shin's mind and he had to close his eyes tightly to keep from crying out. Sora looked up at him, deep anxiety in her eyes.  
  
"Shin...are you alright?"He opened his eyes quickly at her words, and blinked. The anxiety in her eyes mingled with shallow tears. She worried about him too.  
  
"I'm fine! Sorry...just...thinking," he smiled his normal grin that made everything alright. And so it was.  
  
Seiji came in with several cups of coffee, somehow balancing three cups at once, without holding them together like a bouquet. "Coffee?" he asked calmly.  
  
As he passed out the cups to Shin and Sora (who promptly set hers on the floor next to the mat) a phone rang, and it certainly wasn't Shin's fish phone. Seiji would have flinched and reached for his bag but he knew that wasn't his ring. The tune of the hymn "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" played for the three and Sora struggled to reach into her pocket. Finally, she pulled it out, and sat up, contrary to Shin's desires. But he helped steady her anyway as she began to speak into the small piece of plastic technology.  
  
"Hello, this is Saotome--"  
  
"Sora...I know I said I'd never do this...b-but...Okaa never came, as usual, and I have a really bad feeling about tonight. I-I'm seriously terrified and I can't figure out why," he voice was trembling, and Sora could even hear the phone itself shaking.  
  
"It's alright...really. I told you to call me if you ever needed me to come pick you up like this. Toyohashi, right? I'll be there as soon as I can. See if you can hide in the ticket booth or something if you don't feel safe in the open. I'll be right there," and with that she hit a button and the temporary connection between the two was lost.  
  
***  
  
  
  
Seven cities away Jess-chan sighed in relief, though she was not out of the water yet. Yokohama was about 150 km from Toyohashi, in a straight line. In Sora drove really fast...she'd make it in an hour. There were a few shortcuts she knew of that would cut off time...plus it was 2:30 AM, or so. Traffic would be nonexistent. Jess-chan slowly stepped away from the phone and went back to her bench.  
  
As she sat down and embraced her knees to her chest, she waited for the feeling of safety to return. But it never did. She waited a few minutes, but her paranoia just seemed to get worse and worse. She started hyperventilating a little, unable to control her fear. She had never felt like this before. Not even when she was face to face with death. What was going on?  
  
***  
  
Sora struggled to right herself, leaning heavily on the dresser. Shin was trying to console her into laying back down, but she ignored him. "If Jess- chan says something is wrong, something is seriously wrong and I need to be there now," she said defiantly, moving towards the door. She wanted to sob. She was so worried right now that even tears would not express it. Suddenly, two strong arms lifted her and carried her quickly down the stair and out to the garage. Shin set her in the car and ran back to the door to tell Seiji they were leaving. Sora smiled a little to herself at her small victory. Shin jumped in the car and looked at her.  
  
"Where to?" Sora's smile converted back to seriousness instantly.  
  
"Toyohashi, and take all the short cuts you know. I know a few, too." Shin nodded and took off into the rain again. Sora leaned against the door for support to keep from capsizing, and Shin gave her worried glances from time to time. Love and the friendship with a best friend can be very similar, but at the same time, on opposite ends of the scale. Shin thought briefly of how he would feel if Seiji were in Hashiba's predicament, and it was almost painful just thinking. He nearly cringed to think how Sora felt.  
  
***  
  
Touma sat in a corner or the apartment lobby. He didn't want to go back upstairs tonight. He had his seifuku on, and his book bag over his shoulder. He sat incased in the shadow of the unlit lobby, and something about it was comforting. He like the dismal moonlight that came through the old, clouded windows in strange beams and shapes. He wished that his apartment had this safe feeling, but it was far from that. He remembered back, right after he had moved in with his father, at school. They told the students how safe the shoubousho was; that is was as safe as when you're at home (if you ever need to go there). He had looked up at the sensei, with his large blue-gray eyes, and started sobbing. The counselor was badly paid, so they didn't figure anything out. Which was good, because Otou would have beaten him mercilessly.  
  
The moon slipped quietly behind a cloud, darkening the room, as Touma drifted off to fairly peaceful sleep. His divorced parents had ruined the conscious of his mind, but he still had the subconscious to escape to...for now.  
  
A/N: What you have just read was my midnight ramblings one sleepless night in which I edited the other chapters and wrote this one. I'd make the Hashiba chapter one part, but you might lose interest if it's too long^_^. Prepare for part 2 of this heart-rending chapter!!! Please feel free to review too, as I will love you till the ends of the earth^_^. Translations:  
  
Toyohashi: Not a definition, but a city south of Yokohama, on the main Japanese isalnd.  
  
Yokohama: A large city, practically on the Atlantic Ocean  
  
Seifuku: School uniform  
  
Shoubousho: Fire station  
  
Sensei: Teacher  
  
That's all for this chapter! 


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